Cosrin's Undead: A Comprehensive Study Vol. 3
~this tome appears to be missing a large portion, the front cover looks to be a replacement~ "The last hero buried in the graveyard of Moorgate who a history can be traced to was an Elven prince, Girod Golden Bow. Famed for his part in the wars by charging into battle with his steed, he was unique in as much as he fought among the hideous melee as an archer, and did not stay with the division of archers that poured arrows into the enemy from a distance. Once the battle started, he joined, firing from horse-back with his golden short bow. He was given honors for saving the life of the King’ General Hannor when his company was encircled by a glot of trolls close to Thunder Falls. Girod is said to have streaked into the group of trolls, and slain them one by one at close quarters, in time just to rescue Hannor before the Troll King Guards could take him. Girod worked until his death only 300 hundred years ago as an ambassador for the King to the Elven Races. His bow is available to those who can slay his walking embodiment, but this is known to be no easy task as he appears at seldom intervals." The next chapter seems to deal with the magic using skeletons of the area... "There are also accounts of a Skeletal Necromancer activate within the graveyard. This history is a little more difficult to trace, but is thought that he was the former Royal Advisor, a scholar by the name of Kayneid Eriksson. A Nordic Lord who came to represent the Nordic races in the courts of the King, his subject of specialization was anatomy as he was trained as a physician. Later in his life, he is said to have been drawn into working with dead bodies and the field of necromancy. One morning he was found dead of no apparent purpose. It was rumored at the time that he drew forth the power of Valtera for a great knowledge of death, and his price was his soul. He was buried in a veil of mystery quickly after this secret got out of the royal palace. He is said to stalk the graveyard to this day, casting electrical spells at intruders to his area, and fighting with his famous Ruby-Bladed sword (160 hps). It is postulated by some that the horde of skeletons that accompany him are actually drawn up by Kayneid, and he directs himself - perhaps the bargain he struck with Valtera for his mortal soul." "There is said to be a Lich within the graveyard, but he is extremely difficult to trace. His history can be traced back to a famous mage. Mardangg was considered the leader of the mage’s in the realm before the Mage’s Guild of Moorgate was founded shortly after the construction of the city. He was a fair man of great power and knowledge, and lead the way for much of the magical skill development within the realm and its teaching to the population. He lead the groups of Magic users that aided the armies in the Troll wars, and acted as an advisor to the King. However, his death was a sudden one, he was slain in battle by a raiding party while on a journey back to the city, despite his great battle prowess, his group was overwhelmed in the night by an unknown force. What was left of his body was buried within the City, but shortly after his burial, his tomb was desicrated and his body taken. There is a theory that talks of one of Valtera’s very own Dragons having been used to slay him, and it is thought that this Dragon, buried where it was slain in ages past in one of the woods, is the connection to finding the Lich, Mardangg, once again. He is said to be very powerful still, using a Soul Leech spell to take life from those he encounters to rebuild himself to take revenge upon the mysterious circumstances of his death. He is reported to take the physical appearance of a discomposing body, but is just as fearful in death as he was in life in battle (600 hps), his anger at his death overriding any notion of good once in him. It is probable that he is a conduit for direction of other undead in the graveyard directly from Valtera." you move on through the section with maps and points of interest and continue with a chapter in 'Independent Creatures'... "The Independent creatures are those who have an ability to think and act for themselves. These creatures are inherently magical, drawing their power from Valtera or another chaotic source. They have abilities to use spells in their attacks and are more dangerous as foes so reports tell. Aside from the previously discussed Lich and Necromancer, there are several other varieties known to us at this time." "One of the more notorious species is the vampire. A romantic notion of the vampire is one of a charismatic, sophisticated humanoid is commonly accepted throughout legend, however, the actual fact of the matter is, they are fearsome beasts that need to feed on blood from living creatures in order to survive. Stories abound of covens of vampires living in and around the city preying on the inhabitants. They come in several forms and can switch between them so the literature seems to suggest. They have a physical form, which is their base form - one of a humanoid. The opinions on this describe them either as a very handsome human, or more commonly, perhaps twisted through horror stories, we once must concede, is one of a twisted hideous beast with claws and fangs. The two other forms are as an ethereal creature and also a large ribbed bat. We are primarily concerned with t e humanoid form however. The vampire attacks with a bite, and with a spell of Soul Leech, which it uses to draw life power from victims to ensure its survival. The vampire is one of the more difficult wandering creatures within the graveyard to kill (93 hps), although has a powerful attack considering the spells and the bite. There are several superstitions that have yet to be supported by evidence. The first of these is that they can be held at bay by religious symbols from a God or Goddess of good alignment, and it is also able to be harmed by holy water. Another story is that they cast no shadow and have no reflection in a mirror. This is attributed to the theory that they are in fact, ethereal creatures, given physical form simply by magic, and once they are slain in battle, revert immediately to their ethereal form - in essence, they cannot be slain totally." "There is a singular report of escorting creatures with the Lich that are of interest in terms of the Undead. It is said that there is a trio of creatures with the Lich. The first of these is another creature of legend, the Werewolf. Were creatures suffuse stories, and they mostly seem to come from the Nordic regions. Were-creatures are basically humans that have a shape-changing capability. They themselves are mostly unaware of the ability. While persecuted here in Cosrin, they are in other lands, encouraged in society, and often used in berserker units in battle. However, they are also thought to be chaos-spawn, and like vampires, can actually pass on their curse by partially attacking a victim and not killing it. This survival is not an enviable situation however, as it then turns the victim into a were-creature. Other variants have been reported in the literature, such as were-tigers, were-bears, were-boars. Once in form, they appear as the respective animal as a humanoid, with altered features such as a maw, claws and physical strength (170 hps). It is said that the one that lives in the graveyard has 6 inch teeth, designed especially for tearing throats." "The other escorting creature is a mummy. This mummy is thought to be a visiting aging dignitary from the realm of Aguiptia, called Ala Ghakua Haumahn. He died of natural causes during his stay so the documentation says, and rather than ship the body back to his homeland, the King decided to bury him with honor to cement a link between the realms. The Corpse was embalmed and bandaged in accordance with Aguiptian ritual, and entombed in the graveyard. The mummy is a fearsome creature in battle so it is said, but is simply the same as a zombie with slightly more intelligence, which accounts for it being slightly harder to kill (127 hps)." "The final creature is one of legends, and is called a Banshee. The banshee is a type of witch that has ascended the physical plane and holds considerable magical ability. They actually originate from an island society, and were high ranking medicine women before their ‘change’. Their physical form is one of a white-haired, hideously deformed woman, and their repayment for this change is a terrible agony they carry around with them, leaving them in perpetual fury. This fury is voiced with an ear splitting scream and wail, and they are known to be able to poison in battle for a considerable amount, aside from being considerably hard to kill (336 hps). It is also thought that the Banshee’s reside in Ashentilly Estate, although the origins of these can not be traced, nor how they ended up in the realm of Cosrin." "Another legend that haunts the graveyard in Moorgate City is the Headless Horseman. His ghost is described as a burly looking man, and reportedly, he is fairly astute in combat (240 hps). This individual was caught over one-hundred years ago, and went by the name of Faeragh Berathen, an infamous criminal said to raid up and down the causeways of the Realm, attacking adventurers and nobles alike, especially those traveling between Moorgate, Stromport and Briliatore.. Evetually, a bounty was placed for his capture, and he was tracked to a camp in Ashwood forest. There he was made prisoner and braought back to Moorgate were he paid for his crimes with his head. His head was placedon a pike where it is written it was consumed over time by ravens and the elements. His body was placed in an unmarked grave in the graveyard and forgotten about. That is until her was reported to be haunting the graveyard, holding his severed head in his hands." this chapter seems to lead nicely to the next, which discusses the Ghosts of Moorgate... "Other ghosts abound the graveyard also. One of these is a Spectre. The spectre is thought to be a spirit that is trapped in the physical world due to a broken vow or a curse laid upon them while living. It is bound to roam the world until it can redeem itself in some manner. Atthough strictly speaking they are not of any alignment, it is thought that those in Moorgate are bound by the evil force that seems to reign there, and have become aggressive, attacking would be adventurers quickly. They appear as being made from swirling fog and shadow-like skin. While known to be weak in combat (55 hps) they do have an advanced attack comprised of being able to deliver a blow that can slow the opponent through sheer terror, and also prevent them from speaking or communicating!" "Another ghostly creature that is known to be attached to the graveyard and Ashentilly Estate is the Wraith. Like the spectre, it is trapped between two worlds, compelled to remain alive by some unfinished task or obsession. Deprived of rest, it becomes warped and vengeful, and in time confused and lacking proper mental faculties. They are known to attempt to slay any creature that disturbs them. Similar to the spectre, they are said to be moving shadows with red glowing eyes, and appear slightly harder in combat (77 hps). They have the ability to deafen with a blow and have been known to stun an opponent through terror." "There are some stories that come out in taverns and also to be found in some tomes on the subject that discuss a creature known commonly as a ‘shadow’. Its orgin is unknown, but it is said to be close to a spectre in combat abilities and mannerisms (55 hps). It is thought that they are maybe one and the same, however, this is open to discussion and maybe further study is required in the area." "The final ghostly presence within Moorgate is that if the Ghostly Captain, to be found in the Ruined Fortress. There was a captain in the regular army who was said to have been incredibly cowardly, Lonnin Garvey by name. During the invasion that lead to the fortress being sacked, he is said to have hidden away in a secret compartment in his quarters after he fell asleep on guard duty. After the battle when the rubble was being searched, he was found. The mob was so incredibly angry at his reaction to battle, him being a captain over and above it all, he was lynched on the spot. His ghost is said to haunt the ruins still. It is a tradition among the Town Guards that before an adventurer is admitted out of the City, they must find and slay the Captain, begetting his Glowing Emerald. It is thought that this represented the adventurer having ‘Slain the Coward’ within himself, therefore proving he was ready for a lifetime of danger and excitement as an adventurer. The ghost of the Captain is Fairly hard to defeat (276 hps), is known to deliver a poison attack, and often requires a group of less experienced souls to win through. Though he is always bound to return through his guilt at having failed to raise the alarm." finally getting sleepy from all the reading, you vow to look through the references and other associated reading a little later and head off to the graveyard to see if you can't catch a glimpse of some of these horrors for yourself... you notice a small notice in the back of the book thanking Murzad, Salazaar and Bladestar for their help in the compilation of the book. High Lady Elnaenie, Andaria's Devoted Wind Dancer